Dismantling the patriarchy…one drink at a time!

Archive for the ‘Tales of the Cocktail’ Category

by Pink Lady
If you checked out our column in the Dig this week, you know LUPEC is already gearing up for the Tales of the Cocktail in July. Boston was well-represented last year, and if you haven’t booked your summer vacation yet, or are just looking to add a little additional fun to the mix this season, we suggest you consider making the trip down to NOLA this July. Yes, we know it’s hot, but the backwards nature of making a trip to the swampy south in the summer heat means that airline tickets (JetBlue flies direct) and hotel rooms are cheap cheap cheap. If you act now (or by June 16), you can also enter to win a free trip from Luxury Experience Magazine.

Now that we’ve got you there, however will you make it through this madness? As we discussed in the Dig, booze flows all day long at Tales, starting with your first seminars of the day, which begin at 10:30 a.m., and continuing long into the night. When you find yourself at the bar yukking it up with the other cocktail aficionados in town for the event, low-alcohol sips are a great way to ensure you make it through. The Half-Sinner, Half-Saint (pictured right) is a go-to for many. If looking to take a momentary break from cocktails, switching to a lower alcohol sparkler like Moscato d’Asti can do the trick. Pairing your favorite liqueur (St-Germain, Velvet Falernum) or aromatized wine (Lillet or Dubonnet), with a little soda and a splash of citrus can work wonders. Or try any of these.

SAN FRANCISCO COCKTAIL

from Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide, revised

.75 oz sloe gin

.75 oz French Vermouth

.75 oz Italian Vermouth

1 dash Angostura bitters

1 dash orange bitters

Shake with ice; strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

APEROL SPRITZ

1.5 oz Aperol

2 oz Prosecco or other sparkler

Splash soda water

Build over ice in a highball glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Rose Cocktail

ROSE COCKTAIL

2 oz dry vermouth

1 oz imported kirschwasser

1 tsp raspberry syrup or Chambord

Stir well with ice.Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a cherry.

LUPEC loves our liquor but for many of us, it was the history, the lore, and the tales of the cocktail that inspired our enthusiasm for that great American invention. We are drinkers, yes, but we are also preservationists, and it tugged at many of our heartstrings to learn that the signature “Monteleone Cocktail” of the Carousel Bar at the storied Hotel Monteleone fell victim to the ravages of time.

On this, the 60th anniversary year of the Carousel Bar, the Hotel Monteleone will make those lemons into lemonade (or perhaps, a delicious sour?) and create a new Monteleone Cocktail. They’ve put the call out to mixologists everywhere. On behalf of LUPEC Boston, we offer the following contributions to the noble cause.

Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a flamed orange peel.

THE MONTELEONE COCKTAIL II

1.5 Sazerac Rye

.75 VSOP Cognac

.5 Dubonnet Rouge

.25 Raspberry Syrup*

.25 fresh orange juice

1 barspoon Orgeat

Dash Peychaud’s bitters

Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail class. Garnish with a flamed orange peel.

RASPBERRY SYRUP:

3/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
Heat until sugar is dissolved, then let cool for 20 minutes
Add 1 cup fresh raspberries to warm syrup and mash until well broken up. Let sit until syrup is completely cool, then strain out seeds.
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Recipes will be judged by VIPs who will be at the Carousel Anniversary Celebration on May 21 – check back for updates on the winning recipe!

Interested in the possibility of a free four night stay at a fun little cocktail convention in New Orleans this July? We were too. Well all that stands between you and four free nights at Tales of the Cocktail is a simple drink recipe. The Hotel Monteleone is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its famous Carousel Bar on May 21, 2009. From 1949 until about the late 60’s or 70’s the specialty drink menu boasted a “Monteleone Cocktail”. Unfortunately, neither the exact exact recipes nor specifics on the ingredients survived.

This May, the Hotel Monteleone is hosting an online contest to accept drink recipe nominations for a new official Monteleone Cocktail. Recipes will be judged by VIPs who will be at the Carousel anniversary celebration on May 21. There are no requirements on types of liquor or style of drink, but all drink entries must be received by May 18, so that the ingredients may be
acquired and drinks prepared at the May 21 event. The winning entry will become the new official Monteleone Cocktail, and the winner will receive four free nights at the Hotel Monteleone during Tales of the
Cocktail 2009.

Participating bloggers should post entries online, and all participants should e-mail their drink recipes, along with their name, address and phone number, to athornton@hotelmonteleone.com. The deadline is coming up, so get your jiggers ready. May the best drink win!

On August 15, the DeKuyper(R) brand announced the bottling of its five millionth case of DeKuyper Pucker(R) Sour Apple, the neon green key ingredient in that “iconic” cocktail, the Appletini. Little did they know that to leading mixologists and cocktail aficionados , the Sour Apple Martini is officially dead.

The Sour Apple Martini was declared officially deceased on July 19th at the Tales of the Cocktail Festival in New Orleans, nearly a month prior to the DeKuyper(R) brand’s announcement. A traditional New Orleans style Jazz Funeral was held in the drink’s honor. Covering the event for the Tales of the Cocktail blog, Cocktailnerd Gabriel Szaszko writes:

There was brilliant and uplifting music played in a classic jazz funeral style and a well-attended processional of the casket with Robert Hess in the vanguard…After the processional attendees were invited to enjoy drinks and scantily clad ladies in Cafe Giovanni where a “Bartender’s Breakfast” was held. Unfortunately, the talented ladies likely couldn’t be seen due to the number of celebrants trying to get a real, true, non-floor polish-infused, drink from the veteran and highly regarded bartenders. There was also dancing in the street; it was very Martha and the Vandellas.

Complete coverage of the funeral event can be found here and here. DeKuper’s release can be read here.

Now, why don’t you hunker down with a bottle of applejack and celebrate the great Sour Apple Martini debate with a drink? The blended stuff you’re most likely to find on local shelves is delicious in the following drink. If you have friends or family in Jersey, ask them to help you procure a bottle of Laird’s Old Apple Brandy, which it bills as the “original historic Applejack”, or the older still 12 Year Old Rare Apple Brandy (which you can read up on here.) My mother is traveling in the region as we speak, and was perfectly happy to be my mule. As we all know, a family that drinks together stays together.

The ladies of LUPEC Boston are gearing up for our annual excursion to New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail. For five days we will be learning about everything from Shochu to sensory perception. And for five nights we will be eating, drinking and dancing at our favorite haunts. Sounds like something real close to heaven. So to get us in the mood let’s pour out a tasty, low alcohol cocktail from one of NOLA’s finest restaurants, Herbsaint.